The present invention pertains generally to fishing reels and particularly to motor driven reels.
Cranking a fishing reel to retrieve fish and/or lures and weights can present an arduous task for those impaired by health problems such as arthritis, heart disease and emphysema. It is highly desirable that those who have fished for a good part of their lives be enabled to continue to enjoy such a pastime which obviously contributes to their well-being. Certain types of fishing such as trolling or casting for salmon and steelhead trout entails using many feet of line, heavy weights and a lure all of which require considerable effort to retrieve and, of course, additional effort when a fish is on.
The prior art has disclosed motor powered fishing reels for the sport fisherman, but for one or more reasons the same are not in common public use. U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,346 discloses a reel having a swingably mounted motor mounted in a reel enclosure with the motor positionable to engage a worm drive. An electrical cable serves the motor. U.S. Pat. No. 3,460,778 discloses a motor driven reel including a permanently attached motor powered by a remote battery. U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,072 discloses a reel having an electric motor and battery source in a reel handle with no provision made for manual reel operation. U.S. Pat. No. 3,215,359 discloses a fishing reel with an optional drive using an airflow acting on a turbine. U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,944 discloses a reel with an electric motor housed in a reel handle with a motor shaft coupled to a worm gear which may also be manually driven. U.S. Pat. No. 3,077,318 discloses a motor permanently attached by brackets to a fishing reel with a motor shaft in threaded engagement with a spool driving shaft of the reel. The reel is not manually operable. Generally speaking such reels are of complex, costly construction and susceptible to damage by severe use as is typically encountered during reel use. Further, not all prior art reels are readily convertible from manual to a motor power source and vice versa.